Kamala
Kamala was a Kriosian empathic metamorph from Krios Prime, and the first female metamorph born on her planet in over a hundred years. She fell in love with Jean-Luc Picard at a time where she was arranged to marry another man for political reasons. History Kamala was taken from her mother at the age of four and was sequestered in a royal village where she was prepared to fulfill her destiny as a Valtese bride. Since her birth, she was intended to be Valtese Chancellor Alrik's Kriosian peace bride in an effort to reunite the two planets and restore peace and commerce to the two worlds through an arranged marriage. Her entire being and existence was directed at that goal. After she was taken away, she was attended by servants and tutors and was constantly educated in literature, history, the arts, and . She took lessons in every instrument in an orchestra and a few Valtese horns that were said to soothe the nerves of Valtese men. Ambassador Briam of the Kriosian government was assigned to be her guide and counsel throughout her training in the Valtese way. He had been with her since she was a young child and assisted in her becoming a pleasing mate for Alrik. In 2368, Kamala was being transported to Valt aboard the . Unknown to Captain Picard, Kamala was kept in a stasis cocoon in the cargo bay due to her empathic and metamorphic abilities and because she was in the finiis'ral, a stage in a metamorph's development where her abilities to attract males is the strongest. She was only meant to be released upon her meeting with Alrik, but when the Ferengi Qol attempted to probe the cocoon, she was accidentally released from stasis. Both Picard and Riker were upset by the idea that a sentient being was being transported as property. Kamala was quick to respond to their concerns; stating that she was acting freely and thanked them for "coming to her rescue". The Ferengi attempted to bribe Ambassador Briam to sell Kamala to them, but Briam refused and as a result was injured and rendered unconscious. Kamala asked Picard to take over Briam's duties of negotiation and performing the rituals of the Ceremony of Reconciliation leading up to the wedding between herself and Alrik. During their time together, Kamala found herself especially attracted to the caring ways and gentle nature of Picard, who was equally drawn to her but tried very hard to resist her, both physically and emotionally, as a romantic involvement with her was inappropriate. Kamala proved to be an intellectual match for Picard when discussed their shared archaeological and literary interests. Kamala, herself, said that, due to her abilities, she could be everything the Captain wanted in a woman: brilliant, forceful, adventurous and independent. Picard was torn in his affections because he was in love with a woman who was promised to someone else and because pursuing her was out of the question as her marriage to Chancellor Alrik had long term political implications for peace between two otherwise warring races. More disheartening to him, however, was that Alrik did not seem to care all that much about his new bride but instead was more interested in the terms of the trade agreement that followed the peace treaty. Before the wedding ceremony, Kamala told Picard that she had imprinted him onto herself and as a result had bonded with him for life, instead of with her assigned mate. Despite Picard's urging to not go through with the ceremony if she felt that way, she still went through with the wedding because by bonding with Picard she had also gained his sense of duty, and would not jeopardize the fate of two worlds. She assured him that Alrik wouldn't notice, as she retained her empathic abilities and would still be able to please him, although she wryly hoped that Alrik liked Shakespeare. ( ) Abilities As an empathic metamorph, Kamala could sense what a man wanted and desired and as a result she could become exactly that. She changed based on those around her, and it also affected how she felt about herself; her time on the Enterprise was the first time in her life where she was alone and able to explore her own identity. This change of personality occurred during the late stages of the finiis'raal. During this period, she would be ready to morph for the final time. This imprinting stage would take about two days, at which point would be the height of her sexual allure. During this time she would also attract the attention of virtually every man she encountered, prompting Picard to assign Data as her chaperone as the only member of the crew who would be definitively immune to her influence. After imprinting was complete, Kamala lost the ability to morph her personality, but retained her empathic abilities and was still able to sense emotions. ( ) Appendices Background information Kamala was played by actress Famke Janssen. The pattern used on Kamala, and all Kriosians, was later used on as the makeup model for the Trill species, after Michael Westmore experimented with Terry Farrell's appearance in the makeup room. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) Apocrypha In the DS9 novel Avatar, Book One, William T. Riker had a flashback of his encounter with Kamala in 2376 when he accessed the Orb of Time. External link * cs:Kamala Category:Kriosians